Beginning of School!

So most of us have finished with the first day of school. Did you survive it? I noticed a few things that I thought I would share. I am sure you have had the same observations, and if you have different ones, please feel free to add them in the comment section.

1. Mom having to wake up early and make sure they look o.k., are fed, hair is done, is hard. I didn't realize how lazy I have been in the Summer.

2. I really should have done better getting my kids to bed earlier, in prep for school.

3. The kids at home without their siblings are adjusting to not having them around.

4. The kids are extra tired, hungry, anxious- when coming home from school.

5. This one was the most important observation: My daughter who has ADHD and OCD couldn't focus, was extremely naughty and Hyper- about 1 hour after school. I think it took all she had to get through the whole day of school being good. Because of this I had to give her an emergency pill of riddlin to get her through the night. Even with it, it was a very hard night. So today I am doing it different. First a snack will be on the table. Then a manditory play outside for a little while. Then a manditory quiet time in her room. After that we will try and get her to clean her room, play with the family, and do homework.

6. I honored my seventh grader by giving her a piece of cheesecake and a special note when she first got home from school. Then the next day she didn't have to go to school, so I took her out to lunch. I think I will be doing this with all my seventh graders. It was very fun!

7. I was so surprised how different each school year/ teacher really is. We started bad and ended bad last year, and this year we have started with amazing teachers and having a great year. I guess this means I realized you don't have to switch schools or homeschool just because you had a bad year last year. Communicate with the principal and he will help you have a good year!

8. It costs way too much money to send kids to school. I am broke. How about you?

Anyway thats all. I hope you all got through the first couple of days of school.

My Favorite Quote!

Whatever you are... Be a good one! A. Lincoln

I think this is a great quote to start out the school year right.

As a child I hated being compared to my other siblings. Maybe one was more talented, or one had better grades, maybe one was more outgoing, or maybe one teacher liked my older sibling best. I was not a straight A student, but I didn't get bad grades. I hated having my report card on the fridge with my straight A honor roll brother.

When I got kids I started out with an honor roll daughter. The next one came and she is delayed. Now I have 5 and I have no idea what life is going to throw us. I have learned that it doesn't matter about honor rolls, or being delayed, it matters what is in each of your children that makes them special. It doesn't matter if we are still on a first grade reading level, it doesn't matter if we all go to college and get honor cords. What matters is that we be whatever we are and that we be a good one. I am sure that all my kids will be educated, but I have no idea what they will choose and how long that might take them.

I didn't realize this personally until I was a junior in college. I didn't even realize that I had very specific talents that no one else in my family has. They did, but I never knew. For my kids I want better. I am recognizing these talents and helping them by pointing them out and making them feel proud. My 12 year old is very musical and very responsible, my 10 year old is very courageous, she is very organized, and she loved dance, My 7 year old has a love of life, she loves sports, and she is a really good reader. She also is my nurse of the family. My 4 year old is a great runner. He runs faster than anyone else in the family. He loves anything that involves pipes! and My 1 year old baby: He is very interested in lights. He is always trying to figure out how they work.

As my daughter is starting Jr. High, I think of all the kids that will potentially pick on her or make her feel less than who she is. My goal is to make sure she has a good self esteem before all that happens, so she can just shrug it off and move on.

So I guess this post is just about helping your child realize what talents they have, voicing them to them, and that we didn't all come out of the same mold. We are all unique and it doesn't matter what we are....... just be a good one.

My School Check!

1. Go through kids clothes and take out old, stained, holes, or too little clothes.
2. Move too little clothes to next kid.
3. Label with Sharpie on tag of clothes so I know whose it is (One dot is oldest, two dots second oldest, three dots third oldest, etc.) That way no one wears the wrong thing and it looks like floods.
4. Buy any new clothes and shoes needed to start school (label clothes)
5. Get children going to bed early and getting up early.
6. Buy any school supplies that you can ahead. Backpacks if you wait have a really bad selection.
7. If you have a child that has had problems in school, schedule a meeting with the new teacher BEFORE the school open house.
8. Write letter about child and give to teacher if your child had a hard year last year. Take with you to the meeting.
9. Organize cubby, drawers, room, etc. so they can start their school year out right.
10. Have a family meeting and talk about school and how the family is going to run.
11. If LDS have each child get a priesthood blessing for school.
12. Go to school Open House.
13. The day of school, take some post its and write little notes where your child will find them (lunch, backpack, mirror, carseat, etc.) This will help them feel loved during a stressful situation.
14. Always, Always, Always have a special gift or treat on child's bed when they get home from school. It really makes that child feel special.
15. And the biggest thing I learned last year was to not stay with a teacher if it is not a good fit. Change now, because you gut is probably telling you something. We stayed and suffered all year.

Hope school goes well for your child. If you have any additional ideas, please share in the comment section.

Shooting Stars!

Every year on the 12th it is shooting star night. We went out last night about 11 and saw lots. They go on the day before and the day after, so tonight you can still see them. Its best if you find a really dark spot to view them. Make sure you print off some star constellations, to look at while you wait.

Two New Fun Websites!

I love finding new websites and blogs. I need to be better at adding them to this website. The first one I will be putting in the mom section. The second will be found in the FHE section. Both I got from my friend Nancy and thought I would share them.

www.allthingsthrifty.com

and

http://preparednotscared.blogspot.com